Overview

As always, it is of great benefit for us to be exposed to new ideas and directions. I also benefit from the idealism of the students, and have a chance to reconnect with my own sense of purpose.

Teaching is fun. There is vicarious pleasure in sharing the excitement of a student doing something for the first time (feeling a thyroid, putting in stitches, for example). Teaching “keeps me honest”, i.e. it brings me to realize, in some instances, that I don’t, in fact, remember the science behind whatever, and need to review it.

I think the patients realize and appreciate the service role in creating the next generation of physicians.

Students make us think about the meaning of what we do, and how to adapt the level of teaching we should use. Fresh, new students remind us to keep it simple and communicate as we would with patients and family all the way up to the really sharp students who ensure we know what we are talking about, and how to learn more.

Our hope also is that participating [in teaching] will ultimately help us in recruitment, either of the particular student, or by word of mouth about how nice a community this is, at a time when we are desperately in need of new family doctors to join our practice, and seeing little response to our search efforts.

Finally, in the process of introducing him [the student] to particular patients, either before or after we are seeing them in person, I get to reflect explicitly about how rich my knowledge of, and connection to, my patient population and their families has become in 32 years here, in a way that often is only in the background and taken for granted.

It is always stimulating to have young, enthusiastic, budding professionals come and spend time. They encourage us to keep current and to always self-evaluate ourselves and not become complacent. Having these students lets our patients know that we are engaged in medical education and should be keeping up with advances over time.

It was a breath of fresh air to have a medical student with me – there were a lot of firsts for her and it was a joy to be a part of her learning process.